Kronsweide Mennonite Church (Kronsweide, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)
Kronsweide Mennonite Church in the Chortitza settlement of South Russia had its principal church in Neu-Kronsweide; the congregation also met in churches at Schönwiese , Kronsgarten, and Einlage, and in schools in the villages of Insel Chortitza (an island in the Dnieper), Neu-Schönwiese, and Jakovlevo. The Kronsweide Mennonite Church represented the Frisian Mennonites, while the Chortitza Mennonite Church was of Flemish background. The first elder of the congregation was Kornelius Froese, who died in the year of his appointment in 1794. Since that time the elders were Heinrich Janzen 1797-1824; Jakob Hildebrand (son of Peter Hildebrand) 1826-1867; Peter Abraham Klassen 1867-1905; Jakob Wiebe 1902-1907; Johann Peter Klassen 1907-1923; and Johann Martens, who was chosen in 1924, was exiled in the Ural territory 1930-1936, returned and was exiled again in 1938. During this time public worship and religious activities were made impossible.
In 1887 (Mannhardt, Jahrbuch, 67 f.) the Kronsweide congregation numbered 750 baptized members and 765 children. Meetinghouses then were found at Neu-Kronsweide and Schönwiese, and in all seven villages schools of good quality were being conducted.
In 1905 the Kronsweide Mennonite Church had a population of 1,925, of whom 900 were members. Unser Blatt reported in 1928 that the total population was 860 and the membership was 489. This apparently refers to the Kronsweide congregation and does not include the other Frisian branches. If it does, it would indicate that many of the members had emigrated to Canada. The same statistics reveal that the congregation had five ministers, four ministerial candidates, four deacons, in addition to the Elder Johann Martens. The majority of them had a secondary school training. Of the total congregation, 686 had Zentralschule education, 10 normal training, 52 secondary, and 3 university training.
Of the 80 families of Kronsweide who were taken to Germany by the German army in 1943, some 350 persons were sent back to Russia by the Russian army.
Bibliography
Dirks, Heinrich. Statistik der Mennonitengemeinden in Russland Ende 1905 (Anhang zum Mennonitischen Jahrbuche 1904/05). Gnadenfeld: Dirks, 1906.
Klassen, Is. P. The Kronweide Mennonite Church in Russia: Its Villages and Elders. Translated by Edward Enns. Winnipeg, MB: Mennonite Heritage Centre, 1993.
Mannhardt, H. G. Jahrbuch der altevangelischen Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten (1888).
Unser Blatt III (May 1928): 193.
| Author(s) | John H., Cornelius Krahn Enns |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | March 2010 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Enns, John H., Cornelius Krahn and Richard D. Thiessen. "Kronsweide Mennonite Church (Kronsweide, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2010. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kronsweide_Mennonite_Church_(Kronsweide,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=115784.
APA style
Enns, John H., Cornelius Krahn and Richard D. Thiessen. (March 2010). Kronsweide Mennonite Church (Kronsweide, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kronsweide_Mennonite_Church_(Kronsweide,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=115784.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 249. All rights reserved.
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